Your industrial generator needs some juice to keep it running at full force and it’s important to use the right products. Oil is a lubricant that needs to be used and changed frequently in your generator to keep the engine running smoothly. It’s very important to use the right oil but also to have a generator technician come and perform regular generator maintenance. This is because oil has the tendency to become dirty and sludgy over time if it’s left unchecked. We have some information about how often your generator should be serviced and it gives details about how often your oil needs changing. But before we get to scheduling regular services, you need to know what oil is best to use. This is just a guide to help you understand better about different oil types but the only way to get the right answer for your unique generator installation is to give us a call.
What type of oil goes into a generator?
Most industrial generators can use engine oil that is widely available at hardware and mechanic shops. With so many brands on the market, it may be hard to pick the right one. The best thing you can do is to check, and religiously follow, the specific recommended engine oil according to the make/model of your generator. You can find this in the instruction manual, you can contact the manufacturer or just rely on the expertise of a knowledgeable industrial generator specialist. Extensive knowledge about generator brands is one of the things you should look for in a generator company.
Oil is typically available in three major types, and they are: mineral, semi-synthetic and fully synthetic types. Your chosen engine manufacturer will recommend which type of oil to use in your engine. Some of the popular manufacturers in Australia, like Cummins and Generac, have modern engines that might require synthetic oil, while older designs use mineral oil.
| TYPE OF OIL | |
| Mineral Oil | Mineral oil is made from naturally occurring oil from the ground. It is refined and processed for industrial generator use. These are usually thicker grades of engine oils |
| Fully Synthetic Oil | This oil type is fully synthesized and designed to easily meet the tough demands of modern generator engines. They are slightly more expensive but that’s because they provide better performance and excellent engine protection. They stay stable at high temperatures and fluid at low temperatures. A technician should still be checking in on the quality of the oil as part of hot weather servicing for your industrial generator |
| Semi Synthetic Oil | This type is a mixture of both mineral and synthetic oil. It offers the best of both worlds. The cheaper price of mineral but the improved engine performance of synthetic oil. |
How to choose the right oil for your generator?
There are a few things you need to consider when buying oil for your industrial generator:
1. Follow the manual’s recommendations
Every industrial generator comes with the user’s guide and if that isn’t enough, a licensed generator repairs specialist can help you figure it out. It will also give you a good indication about how often you should keep up with generator maintenance, which has many advantages, and tell you exactly what kind of oil to use.
2. Average operating temperature
Certain types of oil are manufactured to work best in different extreme temperatures and weather types. There are also oil types that are more versatile and can offer efficient engine lubricant in a wider range of temps. Depending on where your industrial generator is placed, it will require oil that works in the local climate.
3. Check the viscosity
Temperatures can affect the viscosity of the oil. Viscosity is the oil’s resistance to flow in cold or hot weather. You need to check the oil’s viscosity before using it for your own local climate. You can usually see it on the engine oil packaging, and it appears as a number and the higher the number it the more it resists thinning. The number will appear as 10W-30: the first number next to the W shows much of the oil will resist thinning at 0 degrees F and the W stands for Winter which represents the cold. The lower the number is, the less it will thicken in the cold. The second number shows how it will perform when it is hot. The lower the number is here the more the oil will thin out at high temperatures. so 10W-30 will thin out quicker than 10W-40 if your industrial generator functions in hot weather.
4. Use high-quality brands
You should only aim to buy oil that is manufactured by the most trusted providers in Australia. When you call us in for routine generator servicing, we’ll insist on the use of the best because we want your industrial generator to last you for as long as possible. This and a range of other industrial generator services can make your life easier.
How to maintain the oil in my generator?
Avoid running your generator with low oil levels because it can cause engine damage and this kind of damage is not covered by a warranty. On the flip side, you should also never overfill your generator.
Have the engine oil changed regularly by a generator expert in Queensland? When we change the oil, we’ll drain it while it is still warm because it is easier to do it this way. Based on how you use the generator on your industrial site, as a standby or emergency power supply or primary source, we’ll decide how often the oil needs changing.
Stick to the manufacturer’s oil type recommendations. The wrong oil may affect warranty coverage, cause damage to internal engine components, or shorten engine life on the generator. Reactive Generators also offers generator lifespan assessments for those buying second-hand generators.
You need to prevent dirt and debris from contaminating the engine oil in your generator and in any reserves you are storing nearby.
Take into careful consideration the temperature your generator will operate in. In cold temperatures, you will need lower-viscosity oil and in hot temperatures, you will require higher-viscosity oil. Perkins’ industrial generator operation manual clearly states that you should aim to use the highest oil viscosity that is available to meet the requirement for the temperature at start-up
